Scenes from the Buddha’s Life

This painting is composed of three vignettes from the Buddha’s life. The primary scene begins in the top right corner of the painting. It shows the Buddha ascended to the Trayastrimsa Heaven (Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods) to preach to his deceased mother, Maya, the black-haired figure facing the Buddha and flanked by the gods (devas). The Buddha is enthroned in the palace of Indra, the green figure to his right, who rules the Trayastrimsa Heaven. Afterward, the Buddha returns to earth via a triple ladder of gold, silver, and crystal lined by four serpents (nagas). At the foot of the ladder are several earthly inhabitants, and to their right, a group of sufferers huddle together in hell. This is a reference to the episode called “opening of the [three] worlds,” which recounts the Buddha allowing the meeting of beings from heaven, earth, and hell during his descent. On the upper left of the painting is the Chulamani Chedi, a celestial stupa in Trayastrimsa Heaven that enshrines the Buddha’s hair. When Prince Siddhartha cut off his hair as a gesture of renunciation on his path to enlightenment, the hair was retrieved by the gods and enshrined in the Chulamani Chedi. The painting shows them worshipping at the stupa while celestial beings from higher heavens fly above head to pay homage. The lower left corner of the painting, demarcated by a zig-zag scene divider, is an important but not immediately related scene known as the “Miracle of the Multiple Appearances.” The Buddha multiplies himself, perching on the leafy branches of a mango tree in standing, reclining, and seated postures.